Morning
by Deb3
Summary: 23rd in the Fearful Symmetry series. Just a routine morning for the Caine family.


Title: Morning

Rating: K

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. If they did, I would still be watching.

Series: This piece of pure fluff is the 23rd in the Fearful Symmetry series. There are a few references to other stories, so if you haven't read the whole thing and are stuck at a "huh?" moment, just go read the rest of the series. The order is Fearful Symmetry, Can't Fight This Feeling, Gold Medals, Surprises, Honeymoon, Blackout, the Hopes and Fears, Anniversary, Framed, Sight for Sore Eyes, Trials and Tribbulations, Premonition, Do No Harm, the CSI Who Loved Me, Complications, Yet to Be, More Deadly, Photo Finish, the Caine Mutiny, Calleighella, Swan Song, Betrayal, and Morning.

(H/C)

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: If there is any reaction, both are transformed."

Carl Gustav Jung

(H/C)

Calleigh opened her eyes abruptly, haunted by that vague, undefined sensation that something was wrong. Morning sunlight streamed through the window, and the birds were singing outside. Horatio's face was near hers, the lines around his eyes smoothed out in peaceful sleep. The clock over his shoulder caught her eye, and for just a moment, she thought they were late to work. Reality began to seep in around the edges of her thoughts, slowly orienting her. It was Saturday, and they didn't have to go to work. She had just slept late, as had Horatio and Rosalind. Her eyes were drawn magnetically back to her husband, and she watched him, feeling his even breathing against her. Nothing was wrong. Nothing at all.

She lay there, relaxed now, just enjoying the luxury of feeling lazy for once. One lock of red hair was across Horatio's forehead, and she brushed it back gently with loving fingers. He never stirred. She was glad he was sleeping so soundly. The case they'd shared the last few days had been a difficult one, and they hadn't solved it until late Friday afternoon. He'd stayed to complete all the paperwork in spite of her protests, determined to get everything finished before he left, and he hadn't made it home until approaching midnight. Both exhausted, they had collapsed into bed, one of those times when simply holding each other was enough. Sleep had come quickly and surprisingly soundly, all night, and now it was morning.

A soft sound came from across the hall, barely audible, but Calleigh's ears picked it up and interpreted it flawlessly. Rosalind was starting to wake up. With infinite care, Calleigh crept out from under the covers. Horatio stirred slightly in his sleep, and she put one hand on his arm. He settled instantly, falling back into the well of dreams, and when she removed her hand a minute later, he was still. Rosalind murmured again as she was surfacing, almost awake now, and Calleigh tiptoed around the bed to the window on the other side and pulled the curtains, shutting out the morning for a little longer. Horatio needed the sleep. She grabbed her robe and closed the bedroom door carefully behind her as she left.

The nursery was straight across the hall, and Rosalind had just opened her eyes. "Mama!" She sat up, and Calleigh hurried over to her.

"Shhhh. Dada's still asleep, Rosalind. We don't want to wake him up, okay? He's been working hard the last few days."

Rosalind's voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Okay. Saturday?" She looked at the morning light streaming into her own room, knowing it was later than usual.

"Right, this is Saturday. We all slept in, and we don't have to go anywhere."

"Maybe to the park?"

Calleigh grinned. "We'll see. We'll probably just stay around home today. That would be fun, too." She gathered some clothes, picked up Rosalind, and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Rosalind tiptoed back over to the bathroom door after Calleigh had put her down and carefully swung it shut. "Shhh!" she reminded, and Calleigh grinned at her. Rosalind at two years old was so much a miniature version of her father. The eyes were absolutely Horatio's, as were the expression and the eloquent tilt of her head when she was thinking about something. The golden hair was from her mother, though. Calleigh brushed it carefully, loving the silky texture. It was finer than her own hair. With Rosalind dressed and ready for the day, Calleigh opened the bathroom door. "Rosalind," she said softly, "I'm going back to the bedroom to get some clothes for me. I'll be out in a minute, and we'll fix breakfast then. Stay quiet, okay?"

Rosalind nodded. "Shhh." She padded toward the kitchen, and Calleigh carefully opened the bedroom door and slipped back in. Horatio hadn't moved, still deeply asleep, and she gathered clothes as quietly as she could. A drawer creaked. She looked back quickly, but he was still out. After she had everything she needed, she hesitated at the bedroom door, just watching him. He looked much younger asleep. His eyelids twitched slightly, and she wondered what he was dreaming. Something pleasant, anyway; his face was still absolutely peaceful. Her husband. Her family. Calleigh felt so full of love and gratitude she thought she might burst. Quietly, she turned and left the room.

She had just finished easing the door shut again when a rattle came from the kitchen, followed by a protest from Rosalind, quickly dying back down as if the volume knob had been turned. Calleigh hurried down the hall.

Rosalind was in the middle of the room chewing out Hope, but she was doing it quietly. A sack of cat food lay on the floor, tipped over, and cat food was scattered across half the room. Hope, oblivious to Rosalind's disapproval, was calmly munching off the floor. Rosalind looked up at her mother with the glint of tears in her eyes. "Hope was loud," she explained.

Calleigh smiled. Hope could make her appeals for breakfast quite definite. "So you thought you'd go ahead and feed her to make her quiet down." Rosalind nodded. "Well, I guess you did feed her. Come here, Rosalind. It's okay." She held out her arms, and Rosalind came over to snuggle against her.

"Didn't wake up Dada?"

"I don't think so, Angel. If we had, he'd be getting up. We would have heard him by now."

Rosalind pulled away, reassured now that she realized she hadn't woken up her father. She looked at the mess. "Sorry."

"It's okay. You're just a little small to be handling that sack of cat food, but I appreciate the thought." Calleigh picked up the sack, extracting Hope, who had happily munched her way half into it. "You work on the floor," she told the cat, and Hope meowed in protest.

"Shhhh!" Rosalind scolded.

Calleigh tucked the cat food back into the bottom cabinet, then swept up the spilled food. Rosalind held the dustpan for her and dumped it into Hope's dish. After Calleigh had gotten dressed, she returned to the kitchen. "Okay, Rosalind, what do we want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" Rosalind suggested with enthusiasm, then guiltily looked around. "Shhh."

Calleigh grinned. "Pancakes it is. Come over here, and you can watch." She mixed up the batter with Rosalind perched on the edge of the cabinet, studying the results like a scientific experiment. Again, Calleigh thought how much her daughter was like Horatio. "Okay, Angel, you watch it and tell me when it starts to get brown." She poured juice for Rosalind and started coffee for herself and Horatio.

"Now," Rosalind whispered behind her, and Calleigh flipped the pancake.

When she had enough for herself and Rosalind, she tucked the rest of the batter back into the refrigerator for Horatio's later. After breakfast, they went out onto the deck, and Calleigh stretched out in a deck chair with Rosalind in her lap, listening to her daughter pointing out various birds. Not too many years ago, she would have spent Saturday morning either being defiantly lonely and stubbornly independent at the gun range or being defiantly lonely and stubbornly independent in her apartment. Now, everything had changed. What did I ever do to deserve this, she wondered. Rosalind looked up at her, head tilted. "Okay, Mama?"

"I'm fine, Angel. Absolutely fine. Just happy. You and your father make me happy."

Rosalind smiled at her, and the smile was Calleigh's, like the innocent, carefree child she never had been. "Me, too." She hugged her mother, then turned back to the birds.

It was nearly 10:00 a.m. when Calleigh's spine began to tingle, and she turned to see Horatio behind them, framed by the doorway, looking like he was memorizing the scene. They exchanged a smile, sharing the moment. "Good morning."

Rosalind instantly turned around, forgetting the birds. "Dada!" She ran to him, and he picked her up and hugged her.

"Good morning, Angel. Good morning, Cal. You should have woken me up sooner."

"Why on earth would we want to do that?" Calleigh asked. "We don't have anywhere to go today. Did you sleep well?"

His bottomless eyes met hers, and she fell into them. "Yes, I did." She stood and hugged him herself, and they stayed locked in each other for a minute until Rosalind grew impatient.

"Breakfast, Dada!"

He looked at Calleigh, surprised. "Haven't you had breakfast yet?"

"We have, you haven't. She was just reminding you to eat. Glad to know your daughter isn't like you in quite every way." Calleigh headed back into the house. "We saved some batter for you. Pancakes, coming right up."

"Pancakes, hmm? Might be worth remembering to eat after all." He spun Rosalind around through the air, and her laughter washed over the house. "How were the birds this morning?"

"Seagulls, bluebirds, cardinals," she recited carefully. "And a black one." One of her favorite gifts for her second birthday had been a book about the different types of birds, and Horatio or Calleigh had to read it at least once a day, with Rosalind following along. "I dropped Hope's breakfast."

"You did? I'm sure she didn't mind." Horatio set his daughter down.

"She was loud."

Calleigh, at the stove, laughed. "Rosalind was chewing Hope out for it. We were trying not to wake you up, and Hope wasn't cooperating."

"So you tried to feed her," Horatio said. "Well, I appreciate it, you two, but trying to let me sleep isn't any fun for you. Let's do something together the rest of the day. Want to watch a movie, Rosalind?"

"Or go to the park," she suggested again. On her second birthday, she had been taken to the park and found a pony ride there. She was constantly hoping to find another one.

"Maybe this afternoon," Horatio said. "We'll see. And tonight, we'll order pizza. I'll promise you that. Does that sound good?"

"Pizza and pancakes!" Rosalind sounded like she couldn't believe all of her luck in one day.

"Here, Horatio." Calleigh set a plate of pancakes on the table. "Eat your breakfast." He picked up his fork and started, and she poured him a cup of coffee. Rosalind wandered off to play with Hope in the living room, and Calleigh sat down across from Horatio at the table, watching him, loving him. He looked up from his plate and smiled at her, and she smiled back. In the silence, everything was spoken.

When he had finished eating, he helped her load the dishwasher, their sensitive hands sliding over each other as they rinsed the plates off together. With Rosalind right there, nothing more could be done at the moment, but the caress was an affirmation and a promise each made to the other. Too soon, the dishes were loaded. Hand in hand, they walked back into the living room.

"Okay, Rosalind, what movie do we want to watch?" Horatio asked.

Rosalind headed straight for the movie case, pulling them out one at a time to look. She could identify her movies from the pictures on the jacket, and actually, she could already recognize a few letters, although she couldn't read yet. Each rejected movie was carefully put back into place. "That she got from you," Calleigh whispered to Horatio.

"I didn't even have videos as a young child, Cal. They weren't around yet." His voice, equally low, tickled her ear.

"If they were, you would have carefully put them all back in order."

He smiled at her. "Somehow, I doubt you would have thrown yours all over the floor."

A shadow flitted briefly across her face. "No, I would have hidden them in my room. Only way to keep my things from getting broken, deliberately or otherwise."

"I'm sorry." He kissed her. "I didn't mean to remind you."

"I know. It's okay now."

Rosalind turned back from the shelf with her selection and noticed that neither one of her parents was even looking at her. They were kissing again. She never could understand why they spent so much time doing that. "This one," she said, pushing between them with a movie in her hands.

"Beauty and the Beast," Horatio noted, removing it from the case. "Not a bad choice. Something ugly can lead to something beautiful." He smiled at Calleigh again, and she heard the silent conclusion to the sentence. Even the past.

"And a horse," Rosalind emphasized, keeping her priorities straight.

Calleigh and Horatio both laughed at that one. "And a horse," Calleigh agreed. Horatio started the movie, and then they curled together on the couch, a happy family, and watched Disney's tale of love and transformation again. Horatio's hand sneaked around the back of the couch, unnoticed by Rosalind, and delicately fingered Calleigh's hair, and she leaned her head over against his shoulder.

By the time the movie was over, it was time for lunch, and Horatio insisted on cooking it, saying that his girls deserved a treat for spending the first half of the morning tiptoeing around to keep from waking him up. They all settled down on the deck outside with their plates, watching the waves roll in to wash the beach. "Now," Calleigh said as they finished, "It's about nap time for you, Rosalind."

"Already did," she objected.

"When?"

"This morning!"

Horatio laughed. "She's got you there, Cal. You said you two slept late, as well."

"That doesn't count, Rosalind," Calleigh insisted, but she was half laughing herself.

"Oh, let her stay up," Horatio said. "She can grab a nap later." His sparkling blue eyes met Calleigh's again, and she read the thought instantly. The more tired Rosalind was, the more soundly she would sleep once she got there, leaving them free for more interesting activities.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she said. "This is a special day, Rosalind. It doesn't mean we'll always skip it."

"Okay," she said meekly, knowing not to push a victory. "Thanks, Mama, Dada." She hugged them each in turn.

"So what do you want to do now, Horatio?" Calleigh asked.

Rosalind spoke up first. "Go to the park!"

"Rosalind, we were just going to have a day at home as a family without having to go anywhere," Calleigh started, but Horatio gently cut her off.

"Actually, Cal, I can't think of any reason why we shouldn't go to the park." She looked up at him, and a silent conference was held. "Go get a few toys, Rosalind."

Rosalind happily trotted back inside, heading for her room, and Calleigh stood. "I'd better get her a light jacket. It's spring, but just in case." She and Horatio went inside, and Calleigh headed for the coat closet while Horatio closed and locked the sliding glass doors to the beach. Calleigh selected jackets for all three of them and turned back to find Horatio standing at the side of the room, looking at a picture of his parents on the wall. She came up beside him, her hand closing on his.

"I wish they could see my family, Cal," he said, looking down at her.

"I have no doubt that they can," she replied.

Rosalind came bouncing back down the hall with a toy in each hand and stopped in exasperation. They were kissing again. "Let's go!" she urged.

Laughing, they split apart, and Horatio picked up Rosalind and the toys. "Okay, Hummer #1 departing for the park. All aboard!" Rosalind giggled as they exited the house. Calleigh paused to grab her purse and lock the door, and just before she pulled it closed, her eye was caught by the calendar on the wall. With a deep sigh of contentment, she shut the door firmly and went out to join her family in the bright sunshine.

It was April 3rd.

(H/C)

Next on Fearful Symmetry: In the middle of a tricky case, Calleigh's mother invites herself for a visit, and she is the more difficult problem to solve.


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